Robert Pack
Robert Pack (born May 19, 1929) is an American poet, literary critic, and academic. Life Overview Pack is the author of 22 books of poetry and criticism.Rebecca Mead, "How to Be a Writer: What Goes on at America's Most Competitive Literary Conference?", The New Yorker, 15 October 2001 He has co-edited several books with Jay Parini, including Writers on Writing: A Breadloaf anthology.Robert Pack and Jay Parini, eds., Writers on Writing: A Breadloaf Anthology (Middlebury College Press, 1991) Youth and education Pack was born in New York City. He received a B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1951 and an M.A. from Columbia University in 1953. Career Pack was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to Italy to translate poetry in 1957. Upon his return, he began teaching at Barnard College. In 1964 Pack was invited to develop a new program in creative writing at Middlebury College. He taught at Middlebury College for 34 years. At Middlebury, Pack specialized in poetry workshops, modern British and American Poetry, English Romantic poetry, and the plays of Shakespeare. He was awarded the Abernethy Chair of American Literature and later a special College chair that allowed him to teach across the curriculum. In addition, he served as director of the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference from 1973 to 1995. Among the writers he recruited for the teaching staff were novelists John Gardner and John Irving and poets Howard Nemerov, Donald Justice, and Mark Strand. After retiring from Middlebury in 1996, Pack and his wife Patty moved to Montana to be nearer to their 3 children, and Pack began teaching, as distinguished senior professor, in the Davidson Honors College at the University of Montana, Missoula.http://www.humanitiesmontana.org/programs/fob/authorsandpresenters_NZ.php Writing Pack has been called (by critic Harold Bloom) "a humane and eloquent poet who follows Robert Frost and Edwin Arlington Robinson in a major American tradition." Elk in Winter, The University of Chicago Press Books, University of Chicago, Web, Nov. 17, 2012. Recognition In 2006, the University of Montana awarded Pack its George M. Dennison Presidential Faculty Award for Distinguished Service.http://www.grizalum.org/events/Charter%20Day/charterdayrecipients.aspx Publications Poetry *''Poets of Today'' (by Norma Farber Hatch", Robert Pack Irony of Joy", & Louis Simpson News of Death, and other poems"; edited by John Hall Wheelock). New York: Scribners, 1955. * A Stranger’s Privilege. New York: Macmillan, 1959. * Guarded by Women. New York: Random House, 1963. *''Selected Poems''. London: Chatto & Windus, 1964. * Home from the Cemetery. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1969. * Nothing But Light. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1972. * Keeping Watch. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1976. * Waking to My Name: New and selected poems. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1980. * Clayfeld Rejoices, Clayfeld Laments: A sequence of poems. Boston: Godine, 1987. * Before It Vanishes: A packet of poems for Professor Pagels. Boston: Godine, 1989. * Fathering the Map: New and selected later poems. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993. * Minding the Sun.Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. * Rounding It Out: A cycle of sonnetelles. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999. * Elk in Winter. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004. * Still Here, Still Now''Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008. * ''Laughter Before Sleep. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011. *''To Love That Well: Selected and new poems, 1954-2013''. Sandpoint, ID: Lost Horse Press, 2013. *''All One Breath''. Green Writers Press, 2018. Non-fiction * Wallace Steves: An approach to his poetry and thought. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1958; New York: Gordian Press, 1968. *''Jerry Brown: The philosopher-prince''. New York: Stein & Day, 1978. *''Edward Bennett Williams for the Defense''. New York: Harper & Row, 1983. * Faces in a Single Tree: A cycle of monologues. Boston: Godine, 1984. * Affirming Limits: Essays on morality, choice, and poetic form. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1985. * The Long View: Essays on the discipline of hope and poetic craft. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1991. * Belief and Uncertainty in the Poetry of Robert Frost. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2003. * Composing Voices: A cycle of dramatic monologues. Sandpoint, ID: Lost Horse Press, 2005. * Willing to Choose: Volition and storytelling in Shakespeare’s major plays. Sandpoint, ID: Lost Horse Press, 2007. Juvenile *''The Forgotten Secret'' (illustrated by Nola Langner Malone). New York: Macmillan, 1959. *''Then What Did You Do?'' (illustrated by Nola Langner Malone). New York: Macmillan, 1961. *''How to Catch a Crocodile'' (illustrated by Nola Langner Malone). New York: Knopf, 1964. *''The Octopus who Wanted to Juggle'' (illustrated by Nancy Willard). Baltimore, MD: Galileo Press, 1990. Edited *''New Poets of England and America'' (edited with Donald Hall, Louis Simpson, & Robert Frost). New York: Meridian Books, 1957. *''New Poets of England and America: Second selection'' (edited with Donald Hall). Cleveland, OH: Meridian Books, 1962. *''The Bread Loaf Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry'' (edited with Sydney Lea & Jay Parini). Middlebury, VT: Bread Loaf Writers' Conference / Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1984. *''The Bread Loaf Anthology of Contemporary American Short Stories'' (edited with Jay Parini). Middlebury, VT: Bread Loaf Writers' Conference / Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1987. *''The Bread Loaf Anthology of Contemporary American Essays'' (edited with Jay Parini). Middlebury, VT: Bread Loaf Writers' Conference / Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1989. *''Writers on Writing'' (edited with Jay Parini). Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1991. *''Poems for a Small Planet: Contemporary American nature poetry'' (edited with Jay Parini). Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1993. *''American Identities: Contemporary multicultural voices'' (edited with Jay Parini). Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1994. *''Touchstones: American poets on a favorite poem'' (edited with Jay Parini). Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1996 **also published as Introspections: American poets on one of their favorite poems. Middlebury, VT: Middlebury College Press / Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1997. *''Contemporary Poetry of New England'' (edited with Jay Parini). Middlebury, VT: Middlebury College Press / Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2002. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Robert Pack, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Sep. 25, 2018. See also *List of U.S. poets *List of literary critics References External links ;Poems *"Go Jump" * Robert Pack at the Poetry Foundation ;Books *Robert Pack at Amazon.com ;About *Robert Pack Poet Official weblog *Robert Pack on Poetry *"Not Dark Yet: The poetry of Robert Pack", by Peter Glassman Category:American poets Category:University of Montana faculty Category:Living people Category:1929 births Category:20th-century poets Category:21st-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:American literary critics Category:American academics